To Be a Hero
by Blitza
Summary: Cody wasn't strong. The Morbot was. Cody was a hero. The Morbot wasn't. Or, because two kids on a blimp with a deranged giant robot after them don't really have good odds. Alternate ending to ep 13 from the Transformers: Rescue Bots series. Please review. Sparkling!Cody on board. Watch out! Seriously... sparkling.
1. Part One-Death

Cody tries to ignore his beating-too-fast heart. He tries to ignore his shaky knees and his trembling hands, he needs all his concentration to steer the ship right now.

"Cody! The Morbot!" The young, energetic voice of his best friend sounds shaky and Cody looks back. He wishes he hadn't. A great figure of darkened metal, the Morbot, was crawling its way towards the front of the airship.

"ZZZ ** _DisposeeeZZZ"_** The computerized voice quakes to life and Cody flinches. The blimp veers off course and Cody struggles to right it to the sound of his big sister's voice. Making sure to hold the wheel upright, Cody glances another look back. the Morbot is really close now, but if he lets go of the wheel the blimp would crash and people would get hurt. Cody doesn't want that to happen.

" ** _ZZZDisposeee_** ZZZ"

There isn't much time; the shaking ship might be a deterrent but the Morbot is very determined. Cody needs something to hold the wheel in place while he gets out of the way…

"ZZZ ** _DisposeeeZZZ"_**

There! A metal walking cane had fallen from one of the overhead compartments! Cody grabs it and jams it through the wheel spokes, angling it so as to become trapped in the metal.

" ** _ZZZDisposeee_** ZZZ"

Cody turns to run but fees a heavy hand grip around his torso and lift him into the air. A crushing force drives the breath from his lungs in a painful crack and Cody lets out a soundless scream.

"Cody!" Frankie screams. Cody forces his eyes open (When did he close them?) to see the blurry image of his best friend staring up at him in fear. Blood dribbles from his mouth as he struggles to get some air in. Something snaps in his shoulder and Cody gasps with what little air he'd been able to painfully drawback in. The world seems to spin and shake when a loud noise rends the air in two. Cody blinks and suddenly realizes that he's not in the Morbot's hand anymore. Now he is lying outside the grounded blimp, among the broken glass and debris. His back feels strange, bent at an odd angle, while his right shoulder is actually behind him; bent and twisted in a way that even he knows is bad (and if he knew it, it was really, really bad). The pain isn't as bad as it was though, and even if he can't breathe he does feel a bit better (are the dark spots in his vision getting worse?).

He can hear shouting and the ground trembles from large feet.

The Morbot's fearsome visage looms in front of him and he know he needs to run. He reaches with his trembling and aching left hand (his good hand now) to try to pull himself up. The pain comes back, and he stops. There's a piece of metal sticking through his stomach and it doesn't want to move. The shard is covered in something red that vaguely looks like the diagrams of intestines from his science textbook.

Cody wonders if he would have been able to run anyway, he wants oxygen so bad right now it hurts. The Morbot reaches down to grab him and he turns his head away. He doesn't want to look anymore.

The ground trembles again and suddenly there's sunlight shining down on him again. Cody blinks (and since when did it take so long to blink) and turns his head back in time to see Chase appear. Chase is in his vehicle mode and Cody wants to smile when his dad gets out. He doesn't though (the black spots have gotten bigger, it's harder to focus).

"Cody!" His dad shouts. Or at least he thinks Dad shouts, he can't really be sure though. At that point the black spots get too big and loud and everything fades away. ( _Am I dying? I don't want to die yet…not yet...not… yet...)_

* * *

 _So... this is my lame attempt at both tragedy, and that weird current tense thing that I've been seeing others do recently. its also because I want to write something without the time to actually write something big. And the final probable reason would be my little brother who WILL NOT stop watching the same episode over and over and over again. Enjoy... and tell me how I did with that new writing style/tense thing_

Edited as of 11/11/2017


	2. Chapter 2

The next thing Cody felt was the _weirdness_. He felt it in his bones and in his muscles. It slunk along his digestive track like sludge in the engine of a car. Cody's head felt clouded with the sense of _weird_ and **different**. It didn't hurt or feel painful. It just felt _weird_.

Cody took a shuddering breath and a heaviness left his chest as air surged into his lungs. Cody's eyes flutter open and he gazed sightlessly into a dark abyss. His breath caught painfully before light returned to his eyes in a sudden rush of color. Cody slammed his eyes shut and jerked his head to the side in a movement that he hadn't known he could do. His movement stirred the cloth he was laying on and the sound surprised him. He breathed quickly in shallow breaths that didn't give him near enough air.

"Cody?" Someone soft and warm asked as a calloused hand reached to caress the side of his face. He knew that voice. Cody's lips parted, and a rough gasp left his dry throat aching. Still, he persevered.

"Dad," He croaked out. Cody slowly opened his eyes again. This time the expected light didn't scare him as bad and he found himself blinked a few times as his eyes automatically adjusted to the light. His father's face came into focus quickly after that. The world was clear and focused, and Cody found himself looking around himself in shock. He felt as though he had never seen the world so clearly. It was bright and focused in a way that felt new somehow.

"Cody." Dad breaths it out like a prayer on Sunday and Cody turns his attention away from the medical room he's lying in. Cody focuses on his father's bruised eyes and pale face. His strangely sharp vision allows him to see the trembling hidden deep within his father's strong back. Cody can see the way his eyes gleam brightly in the lights and he doesn't miss the red that tints them with the unique aftereffects of tears. "Thank God. You're alive."

Cody's neck spasmed briefly before he managed a shaky nod.

"What... What happened? The Morbot..." Cody trailed off painfully as some in his throat crackled wrongly and he found himself fighting his lungs as they froze painfully. Something scraped on the inside of him and he found himself tearing up in pain. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Strong hands levered him upright and he could feel another pair doing something to his back. Cody couldn't tell but he felt something move and suddenly he could breathe again. For moment he hung limply in the strong grasp of whoever was supporting him. Behind him, someone was rubbing soothing circle on his back and he could hear his dad's soothing voice in front of him. Cody opened his eyes to see Kade holding him up. His brother looked like a mess. His orange hair was skewed and lacking its usual gelled perfection. He too, looked like he'd been crying. Dad was still in front of him. The aged police chief leaned over the bed and was holding one of Cody's hands. He twitched it in surprise before holding Dad's hand back.

"Kade. Dad. Where's?" Cody looked around tiredly for his other siblings. He didn't know how badly he had been hurt or what was wrong with him, but he wanted his siblings there with him.

"I'm right here, little guy." Graham's voice sounded from behind him and the hands rubbing circles on his back disappeared. Graham moved to sit down opposite to Kade and Cody leaned against him in comfort.

"We're all here, Cody. Even the Rescue Bots." Dani stepped forward and took Cody's other hand. With her free hand, Dani gestured to two windows along the opposite wall. Blades and Heatwave occupied one while Chase and Boulder occupied the other. All the bots held expressions of worry and concern. When Heatwave noticed Cody's gaze he waved while Boulder flashed a strange smile. Chase looked strained for some reason, but Blades jumped and flapped his wings nervously.

"Here, have something to drink." Dr. Greene said. He held a drive-through paper cup with a straw and lid. Cody briefly wondered at the odd choice of glass but dismissed it as the doctor's own brand of madness. Instead he raised trembling hands up to grasp the cup. Cody tried to raise the drink up to his mouth to gulp down the precious liquid inside but almost dropped it instead. His trembling fingers couldn't take the full weight of the cup.

"Careful!" Dad said as he saved the drink moments from hitting the bed. "Here, let me help you." The police chief lifted the paper cup to Cody. Normally, the boy would have been embarrassed over needing help. Now, he merely felt happy to have something to soothe his throat. His head still felt full of cotton and Cody could feel the exhaustion creeping up on him, even though he had just woken. When Cody took the first sip, he stiffened in surprise. This wasn't water. Instead it was incredibly sweet and tingled like something extremely carbonated. He felt it rush down his throat like chilly lightning and immediately felt the burning in his throat die down. The liquid continued to tingle its way down to his stomach where it pooled in soothing coolness. Cody let out a shocked breath.

"What was that?" He asked breathlessly. A shaky hand rose to touch his throat in awe. It no longer hurt to talk and as the cool feeling in his middle dissipated so did the rest of his aches. It felt easier to breathe with each breath and pieces he hadn't realized were out of alignment fit seamlessly into place as if they had always been so. Dr. Greene shifted from foot to foot and Kade's arms tightened around Cody.

"Oh- Er, that? Its just a... new medicine I made to make you feel better. You should finish the rest Cody." Cody nodded and took another sip of the drink. Though he felt much better than when he woke, Cody still felt tired. As he continued to sip he began to feel an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. Though the medicine was good and had only filled a tiny portion of his stomach, Cody felt as if he had had too much or that it didn't agree with him. His stomach clenched uncomfortable and Cody shoved the drink away. He covered his mouth with his hands and hunched over. Cody struggled to keep the medicine down. He took deep breaths as his eyes watered.

"Cody?!" Dad asked worriedly. The others all leaned close.

"Cody, what's wrong?" Dr. Greene asked as he pushed Graham back to get closer to the child.

"I-I don't think my stomach likes that stuff." Cody gasped. He curled up tighter for a second before shooting to the side of the bed. There, he retched miserably as he clenched his eyes shut. He heard it splatter to the floor beneath him. For a moment he relaxed. And then his stomach contracted again, and he gagged once more. This happened several times. Finally, after dry heaving for several minutes, Cody managed to suck in a gasp of air and keep it. His stomach was still upset, but it was no longer trying to expel itself onto the tiled floor. He whimpered. That had hurt.

"Shh, it's okay. It's okay. Better now?" Cody paused out hearing his dad's voice. Then he nodded. Despite having just barfed up what felt like half his digestive system, Cody did feel better than earlier. The feeling of "too much" was gone and he could feel his abdominal muscles relaxing.

"Cody, can you move now?" Dad asked. Cody nodded again. He didn't trust his voice right now. Dad gently eased Cody back against his chest before slowly picking him up. He wrapped a hand under her knees and supported Cody's head and back with the other. Cody was distinctly reminded of when he was younger and needed to be rocked asleep. "Is it safe for Cody to come home?" Dad asked Dr. Greene.

"I'm not sure. He appears fine, but I don't know about the inside. How do you feel, Cody? Does anything hurt or feel out of place?" Cody opened his eyes to peer at the aged doctor. He shook his head and yawned.

"It hurt when I woke up, but I feel better now. My stomach hurts, but I think that's from too much medicine. I'm tired now, though." The doctor nodded.

"It should be fine to take him home now. However, you should probably have someone stay with him, just in case something isn't working quite right. One of the bots can do it, they'll be better prepared if something goes wrong anyway." Cody closed his eyes sleepily as the adults talked over his head.

"Ok, should we try to get anymore of the, uh, medicine into him?" Graham asked.

"No, I don't think his system can take very much of it at the moment. If he needs more, he'll likely alert you or one of the bots will notice. For now, it's just important for him to rest while his system steadies out."

"What about... happens?"

"If something... happen... call...I'll be... Rescue Bots will... help. They.. know... anyway." Cody snuggled into his dad's chest and didn't hear the rest.

* * *

So... this is apparently not going to be a two-shot. It just demanded that I give it more center-stage and effort sooooo... welcome to what will probably be a short story but I'm not going to commit to that either. If my sister has her way this will become a massive story that spans the series. By the way, can anyone tell what's going on with the "medicine"? Hint: it has to do with the bots.

Considering that my main two priorities are "Moon Phased Wizard" and "Claws and Magic" this fic will likely be updated when inspiration hits or when I've finished those two. AKA: expect infrequent updates. I hope ya'll enjoy your thanksgiving and this chapter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blitza


	3. Chapter 3

When Cody woke again, he felt much better. The _weirdness_ was still there, but the aches that had accompanied it had faded drastically. Instead there was a strange warmth resting on his heart. The warmth was soothing and bright but still undeniably weird. Cody could hear the birds chirping and he could feel warmth drifting lazily down to rest on the side of his faze. When he opened his eyes, he almost panicked at the pervasive darkness that he saw. He opened his mouth to call out and felt something ping within him. Suddenly his vision flickered into bright, painfully vibrant existence. Cody closed his eyes again and waited a few moments before opening them again. The bright colors dimmed, and Cody was left staring at his room.

For a moment, Cody just looked at it peacefully. Being here again felt so nice after everything that had happened. Cody shivered as he remembered the Morbot. That had been terrifying. For a moment Cody had thought that he was really going to die. Cody looked down at the light blue pajamas he had been changed into at some point. Slowly, with trembling fingers, Cody reached to pull the cotton shirt up.

"Cody." The boy blinked and looked around in confusion before his eyes lit on Chase. The Rescue bot was standing beside the open window and held an expression of concern. He blinked for a moment before smiling.

"Chase." He murmured. "Where's dad?" Cody hadn't seen him in his room, and normally Dad would be sitting at his bedside, waiting for him. It was really off-putting to be alone after being so gravely injured.

"There is still a lot of clean up to done for the crashed blimp. You father is organizing the people in clearing the wreckage. I have been charged with watching over you in the interim. Are you well? Do you require medical attention?" Chase peered at him closely, as if trying to discern for himself if Cody was healthy.

"I think I'm okay. I don't feel any pain. I just feel weird." Cody admitted. The boy removed his hands from his shirt and levered himself upright. For a moment he wobbled and could barely stay up right. Then he straightened his arms and felt something lock smoothly into place.

"Define weird." Chase commanded. His bright optics peered at Cody even more concernedly. Cody frowned pensively in return.

"I dunno. Something… doesn't feel like it used to. I feel weird." Cody shrugged uncomfortably. "Especially here." Cody gestured to the center of his chest, right above his heart. The weird warmth on his heart was definitely the weirdest. "I feel warm here."

"Hmm…" Chase seemed to consider his response for a few moments before coming to a conclusion. "But there are no pain signals or system failure?" He questioned.

"No. Nothing hurts. Its just weird." Cody hunched his shoulders and pulled his legs up in dislike. It was true that he wasn't in pain. But something felt really weird. And weird normally wasn't a good thing.

"Very well then. You experienced a shock. Your systems are still adapting and getting used to running properly after… that. Some… 'weird' is likely to be expected. If you are still experiencing such sensations after a few days, please alert someone." Chase assured him. Though he seemed satisfied with Cody's health, he still maintained a watchful eye on the boy.

Cody shifted nervously for a few moments. He was unsure of what to do. Cody didn't feel hurt, but he didn't really feel like getting up and messing around would be the smartest choice either. The wounds from the Morbot had seemed pretty serious. Cody didn't know why he wasn't in pain now, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to push it. And right now… what Cody really wanted was to talk to his family. The Morbot had really shaken him up on the inside. He felt as though he wouldn't be able to relax until he was surrounded by his family.

"When will Dad be getting back?" He asked instead. His gaze turned to his knees and he waited for Chase's response. Maybe he could take a short nap while he waited? Cody was feeling a little sleepy.

"He will be returning shortly. I have notified him of your conscious state and he will be returning within the hour." Surprise sprinkled through Cody's mind.

"Huh? But what about the clean up?" Cody asked. "Doesn't Dad have work?" He didn't need to see his dad that much. Surely, he could wait until the town had been taken care of. The Burn family had always served the town first.

"He has made his excuses to the mayor and his on his way to see you. Is a parental unit not supposed to visit their offspring after a fatal injury?" Chase's faceplate tilted in what Cody had learned to translate as a frown.

"Uhh… they do, normally, but I'm okay and it sounds like he was really busy helping with the clean-up. Its really important to make sure everything is safe down there so no one gets hurt later. We have to make sure there isn't any sharp metal or shards of dangerous debris laying around. Making sure that the buildings aren't structurally damaged is also really important. And that's not even touching on the power lines and electric systems. It's really important to make sure the town in safe before letting civilians back in the area." Cody explained. While he had been talking, he felt his hands begin to itch with the age old need to help others. Cody unfolded his legs and scooted to the edge of the bed. If he couldn't help directly, then surely, he could talk to his family as they helped the town.

"Cody, I would advise against standing. The injuries you sustained from the Morbot and crash were severe. I am not certain that your body has recovered sufficiently." Chase spoke from the window. He sounded oddly strained and Cody looked back over in worry. The Rescue bot was still standing watch at the window and he seemed hyper focused on Cody.

"But nothing hurts." Cody protested. "I don't feel any pain. Can't I just get up and walk around? I wanna check my email, and go down to the control room. I know I can't help with clean up right now, but I want to be in contact with my family. I-I want to talk to them." Cody wrapped his arms around his body as he tried to express the _need_ he felt to see his family. It was as if something inside of him was empty or cracked and the only thing that would help would be his family. Plus… he really did want to listen in on the clean-up.

Chase looked conflicted.

"Please! I promise I'll be careful, but I'm really not in any pain or anything! Can't I just go down to the control room and talk to everyone?" Cody pleaded.

"Well… I suppose that so long as you do nothing to exacerbate your condition you may head down to the main room. I will follow your status from the windows. Should you experience any difficulty I will be right beside you. However, please take care of yourself. Your health is my responsibility." Chase conceded. His voice was grave, and Cody could tell that the Rescue Bot was really worried about him.

"Its really okay, Chase. I'm just going to the control room. I'll be careful." Cody promised. Then, before Chase could change his mind, he quickly pushed himself to his feet. For a moment, Cody felt as though the world was shifting and swaying beneath his feet. He wavered for a moment before bracing himself against the wall.

"Cody, is something wrong?" Chase questioned.

"I'm a l-little dizzy. I'm okay though. I'll just hold on the wall." Cody admitted. His leaned heavily against the wall as his shaky knees wobbled. Looking up, he saw Chase shifting from foot to foot in an unusual act of worry. Normally Chase was the only one to stay cool on missions. And now he was freaking out over a little dizziness? Though heartwarming, Cody felt a bit of unease slip in as he wondered how bad things had to be for _Chase_ of all bots to freak out.

"I believe you should return to the berth, Cody. Your mobility is still compromised, and should you fall your body would receive significant damage. It is still stabilizing and very weak from your… injuries." Cody was shocked to hear so much emotion in Chase's voice. Looking over him, Cody could easily tell that Chase was extremely worried. He bit his lip. Cody really wanted to go talk to his family, but somehow Chase's reaction was just as painful as the separation. He didn't want to worry the bot. It was almost as if Cody's weakness was a physical pain for the bot.

Cody gave a long, breathy sigh before sitting back down on the bed. He lifted his gaze to the Rescue Bot again. Chase had ceased his nervous shuffling and was now sporting a look of absolute relief on his face plate. Cody grimaced for a moment.

"So… what's a berth? Cuz I think that word must mean something entirely different for our two cultures." Cody asked. The Rescue Bot straightened before delivering a textbook definition.

"A berth is the metal panel a Cybertronian rests upon. Of course, there are many different kinds, for example, medical berths which come equipped with medical apparatuses or more luxurious berths with extra finishing's for comfort."

"So, it's a bed. Just for you guys." Cody summarized.

"Essentially, yes."

"Neat!"

That was how Dad found him. When the patriarch of the Burns family stepped through the door, Cody and Chase were deep in a comparison of human and Cybertronian sleeping habits.

"You guys really don't dream?" Cody questioned curiously. He blinked sleepily and rubbed at his eyes a little bit. He hoped his dad came soon. Just talking to Chase was making him really… sleepy…

"No. Dreaming is beyond us. Occasionally, we will re-visit old data and memories in a semi-dormant state, but normally we remain wholly unbothered throughout our recharge." Chase intoned. Turning he greeted his partner.

"Welcome back, Captain Burns. How is clean-up faring?"

Cody's tired head jerked to look at the tired figure standing in his doorway.

"Dad!" He cried. Cody did his best to leap and run to his father. Unfortunately, his legs and body did not quite agree with that plan. Rather than a quick few steps to his father, Cody felt his legs give out from under him. It was as if the intricate muscle system he normally used for walking had decided to find a new profession somewhere else. Cody's legs held no strength. He stumbled and fell forward. He shut his eyes as the floor appeared in his line of sight, but he was surprised when strong arms lifted him instead.

"Cody!" He heard his dad speak in shock. Cody blinked open his eyes and found himself looking into the overjoyed face of his father. "You're awake." The aged chief murmured in relief. Cody smiled in return before yawning. "Though not for long I suppose."

"Huh?" Cody yelped as he was placed once more upon his bed. "But I just woke up! It hasn't even been an hour!" His father gave a soft sigh and carded a hand through Cody's hair. He sat beside Cody on the bed.

"And it still seems to have worn you out. Cody, what Dr. Greene used to save your life was… extremely hit and miss. I know you want to go right back to working with us and the Rescue Bots but that's not going to happen any time soon. You body was injured horribly. It needs time to recover. And that's not the only thing that's going to take some time." Charlie Burns faced his son with a stern and solemn face and Cody felt his stomach drop slightly. The look on Dad's face wasn't just stern. It was disappointed.

"When you led Frankie to sneak into compound, your actions were extremely risky. You put both yourself and Frankie at risk. You could have died."

"But-"

"No, Cody. You really would have died had the Doc been anyone else or had the Rescue Bots not been here. Your injuries were fatal and there wasn't enough time to get you to a hospital. You really would have died, Cody." Dad's voice cracked then and Cody found himself witness to tears glistening in his father's eyes. He couldn't say a word as his dad continued.

"You would have died." He repeated. "Cody, I know that our family has always put others before our selves in everything we do. We show it in our jobs and our actions. Its been the Burns family way for longer than you've been alive. But you can not disregard your own life and safety like you did with the Morbot. There's… there's only one Cody Burns in the world, and I'm afraid your siblings and I value that Cody Burns a lot more than serving a single city. Perhaps its selfish, but I would much rather be Charlie Burns, father to Cody Burns, than Chief Burns of Griffin Rock. And I'm sure that your siblings feel the same. Putting yourself and Frankie in that kind of danger was extremely reckless." The chief gave a long drawn out sigh. By this time, Cody's eyes had watered as well. He hadn't meant to cause any trouble or worry. The thought of his family hurting because of him… going to another funeral because of him… mourning and the having to keep going without him…

"I'm sorry, Dad." He whispered.

"We'll talk about it more in depth when you're feeling a bit better. Right now, I want you to rest. Okay, son?" Charlie pulled Cody's blankets up and eased his son back. Cody nodded and snuggled deeper into his blankets. He really was tired…

Within one blink and the next Cody's consciousness had faded to the dull hum of sleep.

* * *

Sooo... been stuck at a farm with no internet for about a week. Otherwise this would have been posted dayssssss ago. Happy New Year!

Please Review if you value my sanity!

-Blitza


	4. Chapter 4

Cody frowned. A distant noise pierced his subconscious. It murmured and churned in the back of his mind like a television someone had forgotten to turn off. With it came the feeling of soft blankets and cool air from the air vent above his bed.

Cody groaned and rolled over. The noise stopped for a moment before continuing. After a moment, Cody realized it was the sound of someone speaking and not random blurbs of emotional sound. He tried to tune in.

:He… his family. I'm … if… sparkling programming or… He really… emotionally imbalanced.: A voice rumbled softly. It sounded familiar.

:Perhaps it was both?: This voice was also quiet but had a definite squeak to it that made it sound rather loud.

:That… a possibility. As a human youth… would be… to his family. Sparkling… would not… that. Rather, it would … any connection Cody… to extreme…: Cody felt his mind perk up when he heard his name being uttered. He flicked his eyes open and frowned when he was once more met with darkness. After a moment, he felt something _click_ inside of him. His vision immediately popped into existence with a vibrancy that made Cody gasp and cover his eyes. He curled up and rubbed at his stinging eyes for a moment.

"Cody?" Cody recognized the voice of Chase. He timidly opened his eyes and was surprised when only the soft beams of moonlight greeted his vision. Hadn't it just been really bright?

"Hey buddy, you okay?" Boulder sounded concerned and Cody could hear the friendly giant shifting in worry. Cody sat up and looked over at his window to see the friendly faces of the Rescue Bots. Chase, Boulder, Blades, and Heatwave were peering into his room with bright, worried optics.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Recently, everything's been super bright when I wake up. It stings a little." Cody mumbled the last bit and gave a yawn. Despite being awake, he could still feel sleep pressing down on him. Cody looked at the Rescue Bots with a frown. He normally wouldn't mind if they were discussing something, but he would really prefer if they could discuss it away from his bedroom window.

"Would you guys mind going somewhere else while you talk please? I know you didn't mean to, but your conversation woke me up." Cody sleepily rubbed at one eyes with a fist and yawned again. Drowsiness slipped its way into his eyes and he yearned to close them for a few more hours. Cody didn't notice the surprised looks the bots exchanged with one another.

"You could hear us?" Blades asked in surprise.

"Yeah, you guys are right outside my window. Of course, I could hear you. What are you guys doing up so late, anyway?" Again, the bots exchanged looks. This time Cody noticed and frowned at them. He was about to open his mouth to ask what was bothering the bots when Heatwave spoke up.

"We just got off clean up duty for the day. Your father and siblings already came in to check on you and we were just doing the same. We didn't mean to wake you, kid." Heatwave said soothingly. Cody blinked at the red bot. He didn't think he'd ever heard something so close to an apology without life or death situations from the red bot. And Heatwave's tone of voice… Cody didn't think he'd ever heard the gruff giant sound so gentle before. Cody realized that Heatwave must have really been worried. He felt guilt stir in his chest again at causing everyone so much anxiety and concern. Cody really hadn't meant for everything to turn out so… dangerous. He had just wanted to help his family out.

"It's okay, Heatwave. I-I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm okay now though." Cody lifted his arms to show how okay he really was. He didn't want the Rescue Bots to be worrying over him when they were supposed to be helping protect Griffin Rock. It could cause issues with their focus while on the job. Also, Cody really did think he fine. A little shaky, yes. But ultimately not going to die anytime soon. There was no reason for the bots to continue to be so upset.

Heatwave seemed to catch onto Cody's underlying emotion because he immediately rebuked the child.

"Don't tell me not to worry. Its my job to worry as a Rescue Bot. Comes with the job application." Heatwave grumbled roughly.

"Heatwave's right, Cody. Its our job to worry. Its even coded into our programming to worry about you. You're a youngling and our charge. If we can't care for you, then who can we care for?" Blades asked unhappily. His wingtips bobbed up and down as he spoke. For a moment the ever-present nervous ting vanished from his voice. Cody blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought about it like that.

"Oh. Then I guess I'm sorry for making you worried?" He guessed instead. The bots did seem to view this response more favorably, however. Their upset expressions turned to fondness and indulgence.

"You should be. Don't go getting yourself into so much trouble. It's a circuit burn." Heatwave huffed gruffly.

"It's okay, little buddy. Just don't do it again please." Boulder murmured. "I like having you around, even if I am afraid of squishing you." Cody grinned at how their countenances had brightened. Seeing their more pleasant expressions sent something warm billowing up from the tips of his toes to the top of his head.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on it." Cody chirped happily.

"Planning or not, avoiding stressful and hazardous situations should become one of your prime objectives. It is unhealthy for younglings to endure large amounts of stress while in their formative years." Chase pointed out.

Cody nodded and yawned. He really was sleepy.

"I think you should get some sleep, Cody. You look pretty tired." Blades spoke up.

"If you don't rest, you won't feel any better tomorrow." Heatwave agreed with a nod. Slowly, so as not to destroy the window, Heatwave reached into Cody's room and lifted his blanket from the floor (it had fallen at some point). Cody looked at him in confusion for moment before Heatwave gave a huff.

"Well, lay back down." He grouched. Cody immediately did so and yawned again as Heatwave carefully tucked him in.

"Wow…" Cody murmured drowsily. :You must have been… really worried if… you're acting like this… Heatwave:

Cody wasn't aware enough to register the Rescue Bots' shock at his last sentence.

* * *

Anyone wanna guess at what this chapter was **really** about? Cuz it was not just there for Heatwave to show his softy side, believe it or not.


	5. Chapter 5

Cody didn't feel so good the next time her woke. The boy wasn't really sure what time it was when he woke next, but didn't really care. There was sunlight streaming through the window, squirrels arguing outside, and something wrong with his body.

If asked to put the feeling into words, Cody wouldn't have been able to describe it. He just knew something was wrong, kind of like an error message flashing over and over again in his brain or conscience. A deep exhaustion seemed to permeate his limbs and even his core. Each breath felt like pulling in tough taffy, rather than the easy gusts of air Cody knew it should be.

Alarm spread through his mind and Cody knew he needed to wake up. He levered his eyes open to the somewhat familiar darkness. Cody waited for a moment and blinked when his vision didn't light up. He breathed in a frightened gust of air and blinked again. Panic rose in gut before light and color finally flickered into his eyes. However, what he saw was not the normal crystal clarity Cody was used to. No, his vision was fuzzy and dim, like an old TV with bad signal.

The familiar dimensions of his room faded into his fuzzy vision and Cody had to take another long blink when it distorted slightly at the edges. Cody's eyes went to the window and dull flickers of surprise washed through him when no Rescue Bot visage greeted him. Since the accident… they had always… watched over him…

Cody felt his eye lids flicker down and for a moment his world vanished into indistinct sounds of static. His breath stuttered to a halt for a moment. Something in his chest _burned_ painfully and Cody jerked his eyes open in painful panic. He pushed his lungs to contract and open again to let in another burst of air. Something inside of him jammed at the sudden influx and Cody found himself letting out a pained whimper. His eyes watered and liquid dripped down his cheeks.

"Cody?" The voice of Frankie echoed about his head in dizzying circles and Cody forced his gaze to alight on his dark-skinned friend. Frankie was sitting on Cody's desk. A book lay forgotten in her lap while she peered at him in worry. Cody opened his mouth and managed a strangled whine.

 _Help!_

Frankie's eyes widened.

"Cody, are you okay? Do I need to call my dad?" She asked. Frankie hopped off the desk and set her book aside. Her eyes flitted over him quickly. Frankie's down turned mouth changed from concern to alarm as she took in Cody's pained expression and labored breathing.

"Don't worry. I'll call Dad!" Frankie said before she bolted from the room. Cody was left gasping for breath as he watched her fuzzy form leave the room.

 _No! Don't leave… me alone!_ Cody tried desperately to call out to Frankie, but his sluggish vocals wouldn't work. Instead, he only managed to produce odd flits of staticky noise. For a moment, Cody felt his panic and fear ride to the forefront of his mind. He felt as if his body was shutting down and his best friend had just left him alone. Cody took another heavy breath and felt his eyes water again. Something was wrong with him, and no one was there!

Cody bit his lip and struggled to rule over his emotions. His fear and his panic tore at his mind. They made him want to bawl his eyes out or look to someone else to comfort. Yet Cody knew he couldn't do that. Right now, his body felt like it was _literally_ shutting down. Sitting still and crying was not going to help him. Panicking right now would be the absolute worst thing he could do. Every rescue and emergency aid seminar had said that the best thing the injured person could do was remain calm and get help. Granted, Cody had never expected that _he_ would be the injured person. He had taken the seminars in hope of helping others.

Cody cast his blurry eyes about the room. He needed to contact someone who could help. Frankie was probably calling her dad from the control room, but Cody didn't know if the doctor would get here in time. It would be best if he could contact either his dad or one of the Rescue Bots.

 _There!_

A black rectangle sat innocently on his shelf. The plastic was sleek and still in good shape thanks to the fact that Cody rarely used the device. It was his cell phone. The phone was an average flip phone with a limit of sixty minutes per week and a limited, parental approved group of contacts. The contact group contained the Burns family, Dr. Greene and Frankie, and most recently, the Rescue Bots.

If Cody could just reach his cell, he knew he'd be able to get in touch with _somebody._

Cody weakly shifted his arms and winced when his vision flickered alarmingly. The staticky blurbs spread into large circles that covered swathes of his vision before receding back to their normal size. For a moment after, Cody did his best to lie as still as he could. He took as deep a breath as he dared and let it out again slowly. Cody repeated this a few more times before he was sure his body was stable once more.

He was going to have to do this carefully. Apparently, movement was a somewhat risky endeavor, so he would have make his way to his phone in short spurts. The first thing to do would be to get off the bed.

This was going to hurt. Probably a lot.

Cody took one more breath before putting all of his will behind pushing his weakened form up and off the bed.

For one moment… the world ceased to exist. It was gone. He could feel nothing. No sight. No sound. Not even touch.

Nothing.

Then Cody felt the intense burst of static return and felt whatever was wrong with him get even _worse._ Cody's breath stuttered to a stop and his vision was filled with sparks of flashing lights. He could feel as something stuttered to a stop in his chest cavity. The burning sensation from his heart returned and Cody could feel as it flickered with varying intensity.

The stuttering sensations of his body's impending failure didn't seem to last too long. After a few moments, Cody felt his heart steady out into a constant hum while his bodily systems once more began their timid actions. Slowly, the flashing lights across his vision began to fade into the smooth tiles of his ceiling. He was lying on the floor beside the bed. Frankie wasn't back yet.

The cell phone was just a few feet away, resting innocuously on his shelving unit. Cody breathed as deeply as he dared before pulling on his dwindling reserves. He had to reach that phone. Cody wasn't sure what was taking Frankie so long, but he knew that he needed to call some help. His body would not hold out much longer.

Fear once more scraped its claws along Cody's spine. His already labored breathing hitched before he could calm himself. Cody blinked tearful eyes at the cellphone. He needed to get to that phone.

Shoving his fear as far down as he could, Cody readied himself for another push. Once more, he would need to push himself as far as he could before his body tried to give out again. Hopefully, it would continue to restart after his exertions.

Cody braced his arms against the floor and forced his body forward in one big push again. This time the nothingness lasted even longer but thankfully seemed easier to get away from. One blink and Cody could feel nothing. The next he was looking up at his shelving unit from an awkward angle. Something blue was dripping down the bottom shelf. It seemed to glow.

His chest trembled as it struggled with each rise and fall. Something mechanical screeched. Cody could feel as his insides seemed to jam for a few long seconds before he could breathe again. Once he felt his body somewhat working again, Cody became aware of a deep ache centered on his forehead. Gasping for breath, Cody wondered briefly if he had overpowered his push and hit it on the shelf. He didn't see any blood, though that could be from the colors' slow fade from his vision. Unfortunately, Cody couldn't afford to focus on whether or not he had hit his head. His heart was in trouble.

Cody's heart was flickering frighteningly, and Cody felt an even more pervasive sense of alarm at the fact that he was beginning to feel very, very numb and very, very cold. Even his burning heart and its struggles were beginning to grow dim.

 _I need… help…_

Above him, Cody could just barely see the black plastic casing of his phone as it rested on the edge of the middle shelf. Shaking, Cody lifted his trembling arm but dropped it when his vision flickered. Cody whimpered a static filled warble. Every time he moved, he felt as though his body used a little more of its life energy. If he reached to grab the phone, his body might try to shut down again. And unfortunately, Cody wasn't sure if it would restart this time.

What was he supposed to do?

Cody needed help. If he didn't get it soon, Cody knew he would die. His body would shut down and he would never open his eyes again.

Cody didn't want to die.

Yet every time he moved, Cody felt as though he was getting closer and closer to that precarious edge. Would one more almost-shut-down be one too many? Cody didn't know. He didn't know what to do or why his body was acting like it was. He didn't know where Frankie was or what was taking her so long.

The only thing he did know was that he was scared of dying and that if he had to die, he wanted to be surrounded by his family.

Cody tried to swallow but was only able to jiggle his throat a little. He was dying. If he didn't get that phone he was going to die alone. Cody took a shallow breath and once more extended his hand up to the middle shelf.

His vision flickered ominously, and he felt his lungs freeze and jam. Something in his stomach twisted in ugly pain and the pounding from his probable headwound increased. Cody's flickering heart trembled all the more violently and seemed to switch from fighting to escape his chest to a terrifying stillness. But Cody didn't withdraw his hand. Instead, after a herculean effect, his fingers grasped the sleek edge of his mobile device. Cody pulled it down and felt immediate relief when he no longer had to lift his seemingly heavy limb. His hand and the phone landed on his quiet chest.

Cody still couldn't breathe.

Cody opened his mouth and tried to gulp in some air, but nothing would move. His chest would not rise to take a breath. Between his lungs, he could feel his heart slowing in its frantic and painful attempts to live. Dreadful cold snuck to his hands and toes. It crept to his knee and elbow joints along side his terror and pain.

Cody still couldn't breathe.

He flickered his eyes about frantically, but no hope was apparent. There was no one here to help him. His lungs wouldn't open, and his heart was slowing down. Terror and panic gripped his mind fully.

A healthy human could survive without air for three minutes. Unfortunately, Cody doubted that applied to him, considering he had been rather short on breath before his lungs stopped working. How long had it been since then? How long did Cody have left? Probably not long. Cody once more sent his fading gaze about his room, but still saw only his one hopelessness reflected back at him. His chest ached. Cody's vision was beginning to fade at the edges and the static spots had become infinitely worse. Sparks of light and flickers of shadow danced effortlessly about his sight.

 _Am I… going to… die?_

 _I'm… scared…_

 _…_

 _I don't want to die!_

In desperation Cody lifted both of his arms and beat them soundly against his own upper torso; hoping to somehow jumpstart his recalcitrant lungs into action.

Somehow… it worked.

With a screech that sounded hauntingly like two pieces of metal rubbing each other, Cody felt his lungs began to painfully open again.

He breathed in. His heart gave a beat.

He breathed out. His heart gave another beat.

Oxygen, wonderful, life giving oxygen flooded into Cody's system. He could taste it as it spiraled through his airway and into his lungs. From there, Cody could feel as his body reacted to the much-missed element. His stomach unclenched and the painful grip on his lower organs relaxed. His head cleared as the oxygen both restored his sight to its previous fuzzy mess and cleared some of the static from his ears. Best of all, Cody's heart eased from its death induced panic. While certainly still weak, its flickers and flutters were not that of a dying-that-very-minute heart. Instead, it was more of a dying-within-the-hour heart. Much better, in Cody's oh-so-humble opinion.

For a moment after his lungs started working again, Cody just sat there. Tears streamed from his eyes as he struggled to get over how close he had just come to death. Taking in a deep, sort of gasping breath, Cody turned his attention back to his objective: get help.

Cody flipped his phone open and began to press the keys without looking. He had each member of his family and team on speed dial with each memorized just in case of an emergency where he couldn't look down at his phone.

He dialed his dad.

 _Ring! Ring! Riiiiing!_

 _…_

 _Ring! Ring! Riiiiing!_

…

 _Ring! Ring! Riiiiing!_

 **"Hey, this Chief Charlie Burns. If you're listening to this, it means I can't pick up the phone right now. Sorry 'bout that. If its an emergency, please call nine-one-one to receive help from the station. See you soon!"**

Cody trembled as tears ran down his cheeks. His father's voice played over and over again and his head. Realistically, he knew that he needed to call someone else, like one of his brothers or Dani. Yet something about his Dad's answering tone touched a very vulnerable part of Cody. He couldn't help the tears of hurt that dripped down his face. He knew that Dad had no way to know that Cody was in danger. The man probably was busy and didn't even hear his cell ring. Yet the fact that he didn't pick up… that he _wasn't there_ … it hurt.

Cody gasped as he felt his heart give a big flicker. He breathed in a painful, shallow breath and pushed his hurt to the side. He didn't have time to deal with that.

Cody's fingers started moving across the keys again, this time he was calling someone who always picked up.

 _Chase._

Chase wasn't just a Rescue Bot, he was an exceptionally devoted one. As soon as he learned of the human cell phone system, Chase had installed his own specially designed software to allow him to take calls at all times from his own comms system. The giant had maintained that it would allow him to receive calls for help at all times, especially after they listed his number underneath the station's routing number. Should he feel the need, Chase could easily pick up any station call.

Right now, Cody was calling Chase personally.

 _Ring! Ring! Riiiiing!_

…

 _Please…_

 _…_

 _Ring! Ring! Riiiiing!_

 _…_

 _Pick up…_

 _…_

 _Ring! Ri-_ **"Hello? Cody?"**

Chase's comforting robotic voice sounded from the phone. Relief built in Cody's fragile heart.

 **"Cody? Hello? Cody, are you there?"**

Cody opened his mouth but couldn't form any words. Instead, odd bits of crackly sound rang from his dry and aching throat. The sounds came from Cody's ineffective voice box as it struggled to articulate _anything_ at all.

Luckily, Chase was still able to understand Cody's urgent situation. Somehow.

 **"Hold still, Cody! I'm on my way. Don't hang up!"** The somber bot barked. Though still comforting, the alarm and sense of urgency portrayed in Chase's voice put knots in Cody's already fearful stomach.

Unfortunately, Cody's body chose that moment to stall out again.

Instead of his lungs, something in his wrist jammed and cause his hand to jerk erratically. The phone ended up flung into the air as his fingers and wrist joint convulsed wildly and painfully. Cody gasped and whimpered as his arm continued to jolt about. Sharp spikes of pain sliced through Cody's nerves with each jerk his appendage made. Cody tried to stop his arm but found he had no control over the limb what-so-ever. Instead, the deep claws of pain continued to worsen as Cody's

arm quickened its erratic movements.

Then it stopped.

Not because Cody had regained control of his arm, but because it became no longer usable. With a sharp crack, Cody's arm broke. Cody closed his eyes as a tortured scream escaped his shuddering lips. Agony radiated through his appendage and up to his heart. The pain was worse than anything Cody had ever felt before. Even the wounds caused by the Morbot Incident couldn't compare to the pain that was ripping his sanity to shreds. It was unbearable.

Cody's hearing filled with sharp crackles of hurt and static. If Cody had been able to open his eyes he most likely would have seen a world of white due to the stress and pain his body was going through. For an impossibly long amount of time, Cody stayed like that. He screamed until he lost his breath and then sobbed raggedly instead. Though his dying body could not support his inhuman screams, it could just barely allow him to sob out his pain.

Slowly however, the pain dimmed. Cody's hearing reverted to only the occasional crackle of static. If Cody had the strength to open his eyes, he would once more see a very fuzzy version of his room. Dimly, he became aware of Chase's worried voice carrying from his phone.

 **"Cody, are you okay? what's wrong? What happened? Cody, please answer me!"** The Bot demanded. Cody could vaguely hear the blurbs of sound that indicated the rush of very fast wind. Was… Chase… breaking the… speed… limit? Cody didn't know. He felt like he should know, but his thoughts were still too disjointed from pain to put together much of anything.

 **"Cody, are you still there? Hold on, I'm almost there!"**

Cody opened his eyes slowly and gazed up at the blurry ceiling of his room. Then, out of morbid curiosity more than anything, Cody looked down at his injured and painful arm.

For a moment the image didn't click. It was as if it belonged to someone else.

The slim, dark gray metal sticking out of his arm couldn't be his. Nor could the odd, circular disk seemingly jammed to one side. The different colored wires and blue liquid was alien to him. He simply couldn't connect his human, flesh and blood arm with this… synthetic skinned, metallic, machine. The wires hidden within the human colored casing were not the blood vessels and veins that were supposed to be there. Instead of weird, metallic pumps and contraptions, his arm should be made up of muscle and three different layers of skin cells. Where was his white, still maturing bone? What was that silver colored metal frame doing there?

Cody breathed in a stuttering breath with abused lungs. He whimpered a staticky sort of screech.

 _What… is… this…?_

* * *

 _Welcome to the Angst Festival! It begins... Muwahahaha!_

 _..._

 _Anyway, finally moving on to the meat of the introductory part. Took a little while to plan it all out, but I've got a pretty stable plan for how I'm going to wrap up the intro now. Then I can get on with how what I've done effects the rest of the series. However, thats all for later._

 _Right now, I want to make a few things clear if they hadn't been already._

 _1\. Cody should have died. He really should have but the doc and the bots did something they weren't supposed to. This taboo thing is going to be explained more thoroughly in the next few chapters but its basically what this entire fic is based on. Everything from chapter two and onward is about this "thing."_

 _2\. Cody is not, in any way, form, or fashion, one of the Rescue Bot's offspring. His parents were both human, he's just... not, anymore. Again, explained within the next few chapters._

 _3\. Also, I've held off from using a really popular tag just to keep ya'll in suspense. Because this chapter has pretty much held the big reveal (just not explained it) I'll be using it now. If it surprises you_ after _reading this chapter... I'm not at fault for 'spoiling'. I think its pretty obvious at this point what direction this fic is going if you hadn't realized long before now._

 _4\. This is going to be somewhat of a crossover with other transformers series. Specifically those linked with the Transformers:Prime series. Partially, because Rescue Bots is a little kid thing without much over arching plot (it has some... but I like Transformers:Prime characters better) and because its wayyy cooler that way and more likely to lure in more transformers fans/reviews._

 _Okay, finished with the press release. You may continue with your reviewing now (HINT HINT)_

 _~Blitza_


	6. Chapter 6

_The slim, dark gray metal sticking out of his arm couldn't be his. Nor could the odd, circular disk seemingly jammed to one side. The different colored wires and blue liquid was alien to him. He simply couldn't connect his human, flesh and blood arm with this… synthetic skinned, metallic, machine. The wires hidden within the human colored casing were not the blood vessels and veins that were supposed to be there. Instead of weird, metallic pumps and contraptions, his arm should be made up of muscle and three different layers of skin cells. Where was his white, still maturing bone? What was that silver colored metal frame doing there?_

 _Cody breathed in a stuttering breath with abused lungs. He whimpered a staticky sort of screech._

 _What… is… this…?_

"Cody! Cody!" The call jolted Cody from the fugue he had been falling into. A fuzzy shadow crawled over him and Cody looked up into Heatwave's blue gaze. The Rescue Bot had finally arrived outside Cody's window. For a moment, the two merely stared at each other. Then Cody's breathing caught on something again and he gave a high-pitched squeak when his throat closed up. He jerked his focus back to his aching… weird body. Blue still pooled beneath his broken, metallic arm but that wasn't what concerned him. Cody's chest shuddered as it struggled to inhale and exhale, but something was caught. He couldn't breathe! Panic flooded back to the surface of his mind as his twisty vision darkened drastically.

He couldn't breathe!

Gentle hands scooped Cody from his floor and brought him out into the blinding sun. Cody squeezed his eyes shut at the bright light. He felt as Heatwave shifted him to his side.

 _Pop!_

Cody took a deep breath as Heatwave's finger touched something on his back. His lungs expanded in beautiful harmony and Cody thought the air he breathed must have been liquid life. Color flooded minutely back into his sight and the darkness receded somewhat. The pain in Cody's torso eased as Heatwave adjusted something in his back.

As Cody regained his oxygen and senses, he became aware of Heatwave's voice. The poor bot was talking nonstop, silly nonsense meant to reassure and placate.

"Shhh, it's gonna be okay. You're going to be fine, Cody. I've got you." The Rescue Bot murmured.

"H-Heatwave." Cody managed through his misbehaving throat. The name was awkward on his vocal cords. It was as if his throat lacked the energy to move. Cody's world spun as the bot maneuvered his hand around. Suddenly, Cody's view of the bright world disappeared, and he found himself held gently against warm, red metal. Cody leaned against the warmth longingly; he felt so cold. It was as if all the heat had drained out of him.

"Chase! We've got a problem! Cody's out of energon and he's damaged his servo! Looks like a pretty bad kaumorrhage." Heatwave called.

"Affirmative. Boulder, retrieve the purified energon from the base. Blades, do you still carry around extra bitarlueus splints?" Chase's voice asked. Cody tried to look for his father's partner bot, but couldn't see anything besides Heatwave's hands.

"On it," Boulder called as he pounded away. Cody could hear the giant's footsteps as he hurried into the lower level of the Burns' home base.

"Yes, but I don't have anything small enough for Cody. Even premature sparklings were bigger than him." Blades chirped worriedly.

"Flash fire it, Cody needs something to stop that energon leak right now. It doesn't matter if it's a little too big, Cody isn't likely to have full mobility for a little while anyway. Chase ordered. Cody blinked hazily up at red metal when he felt Heatwave moving again. The bright sky greeted his blurry eyes and Cody cringed slightly. Even drained of most of its color, the outside world was still too bright for his eyes. When Cody blinked, he opened his eyes to Chase's worried face staring down at him. Heatwave's visage also portrayed considerable worry.

"Hold on, little one. Boulder will return soon." Chase assured Cody. Heavy pounding heralded the truth in Chase's statement as a moment later Boulder's light green physique appeared.

"I've got the energon, Chase." Boulder reported as he held up a small vial of shiny blue liquid. Cody couldn't focus on it very much; his vision was too blurry.

"Heat it to what his optimal internal temp needs to be. Blades, have you finished with the splint? We need to patch the energon leak before giving him anything. His system won't be able to process it if it's being constantly drained."

"A-almost… Got it!" Blades grunted as he approached his fellow Rescue Bots. Cody watched as the blurry yellow figure held up something that looked vaguely like a cast used on a broken bone. Instead of appearing to be made of bandages and plaster however, this cast was silver and glittered brightly in the light.

"Good, Heatwave, hand Cody over to Boulder. You can warm the energon to a more calculated temperature. Boulder, I need you to keep Cody still while we set and splint his servo. He's snapped his inner bitarlueus rod and it needs to be put back into place. He's also jammed his primary piston. Blades," Chase directed his attention to the flightiest member of their rescue team. "I'm going to need you to patch him up as soon as I finish setting his bitarlueus. Fixing it will increase energon flow. You are going to have to patch it fast and patch it well. Cody's lost a lot of energon and we don't have any more of the refined or purified energon on hand."

"Got it." Heatwave affirmed. Cody's vision swam nauseatingly as Heatwave gently passed him over to Boulder in exchange for the blue liquid. The green giant maneuvered Cody's injured arm so that it lay straight out across his palm. Then Boulder gently folded his thumb over Cody's body to keep him still. Boulder looked over at Chase and nodded. The gently giant was dreading what would come next. Even though he knew Cody needed the patch-up, he still didn't want to cause his friend any more pain.

"Cody, can you hear me?" Chase directed his voice down to Cody. The boy peered upwards dazedly before giving a slow nod. Though confused and in pain, Cody could still somewhat understand what was going on around him. The Rescue Bots' voices served to be an anchor to the conscious world. Cody put all his attention on the sound of their worried speech. He didn't really understand the words they were using like "bitarlueus" or "energon"; but he could get the gist of it. They were going to fix his arm.

"Good. I'm going to set your arm. Its going to hurt, but I need you to do your best not to move too much, okay?" Cody nodded again. He knew it would hurt. He could still remember having his leg set when he was eight.

Chase's hands drifted down to rest slightly above Cody's arm. For a moment, Cody wondered how Chase was going to set his arm when his thumb was probably bigger that Cody's whole body. Then the Rescue Bot's thumb split down the center as a metal panel slid away from the appendage. Robotic wires and smaller appendages slithered out of the bot's thumb. Cody looked away as their neared is injured arm. Normally he was all about watching his Autobot friends do cool things. But watching them set his … weird, metallic arm, was not what Cody wanted to see. He gulped as the wires curled around the broken rod and circle thing in his arm. The foreign touch sent shocks of burning pain to his nervous system and Cody had to clench his teeth as he struggled not to move. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a soft whimper.

"Shhh... Little one. I'm going to set it on the count of three. One. Two Three!" Chase set the rod. At the same time, the bot pinched the piston ever so slightly and nudged it back into proper movement.

"Aghh!" Cody screeched. The little bit of strength remaining in his freaky body jerked against Boulder's restraining hand as he reflexively tried to get away from the pain. Light exploded and danced across his vision in quick spasms of uncontrolled flashes. For a few moments Cody couldn't feel or sense anything but the pain of having his arm set. He sobbed softly and tried to curl in on himself. Eventually however, the pain faded slightly, and Cody felt ready to face the world again.

When Cody was able to focus and recognize the world outside of his own pain, he opened tearful eyes to see the shiny, metal cast over his arm once more. Blades had already slipped on and secured the metal cast to his arm. Cody didn't really know what to think about that; but it was probably a good thing that he wasn't bleeding weird blue stuff everywhere anywhere. His arm even felt better, the pain of something begin _stuck_ had disappeared completely while the rest had faded to a somewhat manageable ache. Tears still streamed from the child's eyes, but only from the memory of horrible pain, nothing currently debilitating. Cody's vision was still blurry, and his head was still pounding.

Cody soon became aware of Boulder's panicked murmurs of appeasements.

"Hey, hey, little guy. Its okay, it all over. We're here. It's okay. Hey, little sparkling." The green Rescue Bot repeated over and over again. Cody had never seen Boulder look so upset. Normally the bot was a happy medium to a panicky Blades or hot-headed Heatwave. Now however, Boulder seemed as if he would have been crying too had he been human.

Granted, the other bots didn't look much better. Blades had gone completely still and was staring at Cody with horrified eyes. It was unnerving to see the normally fidgety bot so still. Heatwave and Chase were definitely the calmest; though Heatwave's mettle seemed a little weak with his out-of-character fidgeting. Chase looked calm but pained. It was as if the bot knew everything would be fine, but was still unhappy with the situation.

"You back with us, kid?" Heatwave asked. He leaned a little closer to further examine Cody. Cody managed a shaky nod and a wince. Though he was worried his throat would close if he tried to talk, Cody decided he wouldn't be nodding to anymore questions from the Rescue Bots. It made his head hurt even worse.

"Alright then. Boulder is going to sit you up and then I'm going to give you some, uh, medicine to drink." Heatwave rumbled. Cody blinked and remembered not to nod his head. Instead, he gave a short, staticky hum in reply. The Rescue Bots took his odd response in stride. Within moments, Cody found himself elevated by Boulder's gargantuan fingers. Heatwave leaned close and presented Cody with the glass vial filled with electric blue liquid. Looking at it now, Cody could see that the liquid was denser that water. It moved sluggishly around in its container. Tiny flashes of static seemed to crack in and out of existence within the blue compound. The blatant show of electricity, coupled with the glow factor, was enough to cause Cody to pull away as much as he was able. The boy already felt horrible. He didn't need liquid lightning floating around his insides.

"Drink it, Cody. It will make you feel better." Blades murmured pleadingly. Cody blinked slowly and peered dazedly at the yellow bot. How in the world would radioactive blue gunk help? Without realizing it, Cody found the vial being tipped into his mouth. The liquid was sweet but seemed charged somehow. Cody found himself swallowing out of reflex when he realized the 'medicine' had been poured into his mouth.

His body's reaction to the blue gunk was instantaneous. Cody immediately felt as though a heavy weight had just fallen off of him. Breathing became easier and his vision cleared immediately. It was as though ambrosia had begun flowing through his veins. Cody sighed in relief as the pounding in his head and the tightness in his chest eased. His stomach unclenched from it angry uprising.

Cody blinked in shock. Then, he took another gulp of the dense blue liquid. Again, liquid healing raced through his system. However, when he tried to take another sip, Cody found himself swallowing air. Heatwave had pulled the vial away.

"Sorry, kid. If you drink too much more it'll overwork your system. This stuff may be as purified as we can get it, but its still a good ways off from sparkling grade. "

"What is it?" Cody croaked. He looked down at his arm with wary eyes. "What's going on? What's wrong with me?" Above him the bots either grimaced or looked away. They had known from the beginning that what they had done would have repercussions. They had just hoped for a little more peace first.

* * *

Sooo... I'm going to be honest and say that this chapter was like pulling teeth. If its of lesser quality I tried to get my twin to read it over for me and she refused. Go guilt Dragon Courage. Also... the cliffhanger is in part due to my twin pulling a cliffhanger in her Tokyo Ghoul fic, " _Dietary Supplement_ ". Because seriously... I TOLD her I wanted to read that fic and see what happened next! So, this my revenge. Grrrr... go bug her and tell her to update. Her name is Dragon Courage and I would really appreciate it if somebody would go bother her on my behalf. I swear its like what I say goes in one ear and out the other. :(

Anyway, ya'll have a good February. Good luck on midterms.

~Blitza


	7. Chapter 7

Part Seven

For moment the bots seemed to hesitate. None of them really wanted to speak first. Cody thought his question would be ignored until Heatwave shook himself, gathered his fiery courage, and opened his mouth plate to speak.

"We should head inside first." Chase's calm and collected voice cut Heatwave off. Cody looked over at his father's partner. "We're too exposed out here. Someone could come around the bend and spot Cody." Chase gestured loosely to the curved road leading down to the Griffin Rock City. Boulder nodded and followed Chase inside the Burns Family Home and HQ. Cody could hear Blades's timid footfalls and Heatwave's confident stroll as the two followed. For a moment, Cody couldn't see anything in the gloom of the HQ's garage and command room. Then his vision flickered, and Cody found his eyesight perfectly adapted to the manmade lighting of the base. Steel and brick walls lined the garage while the Rescue Bots' few personal items rested in their own personal corners.

Once the last bot had entered the base, Chase closed the garage doors.

"You, you sure you're up to this, Cody? You don't look too well." Boulder asked in fear as he looked own at Cody. Cody looked back up at him and knew Boulder had a point. Though he felt a lot better, Cody felt as though his limbs had weight attached or something. He wasn't really in too much pain; his arm arched and the rest of him felt heavy. But his limbs were shaking, and Cody found himself having to work to decipher Boulder's words. He felt so tired. Still, he found his voice, shaky though it was.

"No. I n-need to know. What's happening? What's wrong with me?" Cody asked. He turned fearful eyes to his bot friends.

"Nothing's _wrong_ with you Cody." Heatwave disagreed. The fire-specialist had folded his arms defensively over his chest and refused to meet Cody's eyes.

"Then, then what is this?" Cody cried. He used his functional hand to gesture to his injured appendage. "Normal people don't have metal rods and weird stuff stuck in their arms! Or blue medicine that leaks out when they get hurt!" Cody shouted. He looked at each of the Rescue Bots in turn. Despite showing it in different ways, each bot was showing a single shared emotion: guilt.

Tears breached his eyes and he struggled not to cry. Bright, liquid pain lanced across his heart in terror filled bursts. Unfortunately, this pain was not a physical pain but an emotional one that could not be soothed away by a doctor. Cody was horribly afraid, and his protectors weren't helping with their halfway guilty expressions. Had they done something that had led to… this?

"No, they don't." Boulder murmured. He shifted uncomfortably when Cody's tear-bright gaze landed on him.

"Then what's going on? Why, why am I like this?! What have you done?" Cody cried in frustration. On the last sentence his voice broke, but Cody really didn't care what he sounded like at that point. He felt as though his entire world was falling apart. The Rescue Bots had done this to him somehow. They had done whatever it was, and they had don it to him. They were supposed to be his protectors. Not the ones who changed him from a safe, fleshy, human into something with metal parts and blue blood.

"W-we did what w-we c-c-could…" Blades warbled miserably. Of all the bots, he seemed the worst affected by Cody's hurt cries. The aerial officer had hunched into himself as much as he was able. Blades seemed to be on the verge of crying himself. Cody wasn't paying attention however. Instead he was wholly fixated on the fact that _his friends_ had turned him into something that wasn't human. He let out a sob as his tears finally began to streak down his cheeks.

"Why?" Cody gasped out. Why would they do this to him? They had taken what made him human and changed him into some kind of robot that couldn't even survive on its own.

"It was the only way to keep you alive." Chase broke in. Once more, he seemed utterly calm and unaffected. For all that Cody was screaming his head off at the other bots, Chase remained straight-backed and unflinching.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Cody asked. "What happened? What's going on? Why-" Cody broke off his questioning when he found himself lifted away from Boulder. Gentle blue hands scooped him up and laid him against warm metal. From within, Cody imagined he could feel a kind of alien robot heartbeat. Its was soothing. Above him, Chase hummed as he stroked Cody's back with his pointer finger.

:Calm down, Little One. You will incite injury to yourself if you continue:

Chase's voice rumbled within Cody's head like the sound of Cody's father's old police cruiser.

:Your format was not designed for such stress:

Cody tried to kick himself away for a moment before the soothing hum lulled his body to rest. Cody found himself utterly relaxed against Chase's warm chest plate. After a moment of the soothing treatment, Chase pulled Cody away and looked down at the child once more.

"Are you suitably calmed now?" Chase asked. Cody blinked and nodded hesitantly. Though fear still ate at him, he felt oddly distanced from it. It felt as though Cody was on a far away island and his fears were on another. Still there, but too far away to touch him.

"Good. You will overheat your CPU otherwise." Chase asserted. "As for your question, do you remember what happened with the Morbot?"

"Y-yes." Cody stuttered as he gave a flinch at the machine's name. He could still remember what it felt like to be squeezed to death by the soulless robot.

"We lied to you concerning what was done to save your life. But the time we arrived at the scene, you were too far gone for human medicine to take effect. No matter what methods Doctor Greene used, your heart would not beat, and your body would not cease its shut down. So, your father begged us to do something." Chase lifted Cody so as to look the boy in the eye. "Cody, we are not biological beings. We do not deal in blood or muscle; we deal in energon and motors. When your father begged us to save your life, we could not save your human form. Instead, we built and transferred your human equivalent of a spark into a new form. The form you inhabit now, is a form we made for you. It is a proto-form covered in skin colored silicon in order to maintain a human appearance."

"I…" Cody swallowed dryly. "I was dying?" He opened his eyes wide and stared in shock at Chase. He had known that the Morbot had injured him badly. Dad had even said it was close and begged him not to do something so dangerous again. But to be dying? To the point where not even Doctor Greene could pull him back?

"Yes. You had lost too much blood, your ribs had collapsed and punctured your lungs in multiple places."

"So… you took my… soul… and put it in a machine that you made look just like I normally look?"

"Yes."

The word should have been damning. It should have been the gong of the executioner or the mallet of the judge. Yet Cody could find no condemnation within him. He still felt hurt; but more than that he felt as if her were in a state of shock. Chase's words seemed to come from a long way off. Instead, Cody's focus was turned inward in thought.

The Rescue Bots had changed him; turned him inhuman without his consent or knowledge. Yet, they had done it to save his life, and technically, his father was the one who was required to give consent. Had this been any normal medical procedure, Cody's dad would have been the one required to give consent due to Cody's status as a minor. And, his father had given consent, had begged for Cody's life to be saved. Legally, the Rescue Bots and his father were in the right.

Emotionally, things were a good bit more complicated.

Cody knew they had only changed him into a robot to save his life. He _knew_ that. Yet hurt still bubbled up from his heart. Love and hurt surged in conflict within him. They had changed him without his consent or knowledge. Then, after he had woken, they hadn't said a word. They had lied to him. They had turned him into something inhuman. The Rescue Bots had betrayed his trust.

"Does dad know the extent of what you did, or does he just think you healed me?"

"Your father knows the full extent and ramifications of the procedure."

"What about my siblings? Do they know?"

"Yes, as does Francesca Green." Cody felt his heart crack a little more. His father, brothers, and sister had betrayed his trust. Frankie and her dad had betrayed his trust. A few more tears worked their way down his face.

"So, everybody knew about this, but me?" Cody asked. The bots must have caught the hurt that flashed across his face because Heatwave was quick to step in.

"We weren't going to keep it a secret from you, Cody. It would have been impossible. We just wanted you to get better first. Look at yourself, you're making yourself ill." Heatwave's gruff assertion brought Cody's attention to his trembling body and the lines of glowing tears that trailed down his cheeks and pooled on his chest. He somewhat hysterically wondered if it would stain his shirt.

"But you lied to me." Cody argued as he turned his voice and thoughts back to the four Cybertronian search and rescue officers before him.

"We didn't lie, Cody. We… just didn't tell you everything all at once." Boulder tried to soothe Cody.

"Omission is the same as lying. Even a judge would say so." Cody's tone of voice held all of the pain he could not articulate through words alone. He didn't understand why they would hide this from him. Even if they had been concerned for his health, it wouldn't have been hard to say something like 'we had to do something weird in order to save you' and refuse to talk about it until later. Now, Cody felt hurt and upset and nothing was making sense anymore!

"We did not want to overwhelm you, Cody. Also, you have not even been able to stay awake long enough for us to explain. Even now, you are on the brink of entering recharge." Chase argued. Even though Cody wanted to argue with the bot, he knew Chase's point was valid. Cody hadn't exactly been awake for long periods of time. Even now, Cody was exhausted. The only thing his body wanted to do was to slip into unconsciousness.

"Hey! What's the big idea leaving us in town without a ride ba-Cody!" Cody looked back to see the sweaty figure of Kade in the door way.

"Cody, what are you doing out of bed? Is that a cast on your arm?" Kade asked as he jogged into the room. For moment, Cody wasn't sure how to reply. Waking up next to Frankie seemed like a forever ago. Now, he felt tired and drained. It was almost like the time he went into shock after breaking his arm when he was six.

Yes, Cody was upset at what the Rescue Bots and his family and done and then hid. But, he was also exhausted and running on fumes. He didn't even feel up to an emotional response. He wanted to be alone.

Cody shrugged.

"Heatwave, what happened?" Kade turned to his partner for a more accurate explanation.

"Cody suffered a bout of energon deprivation. Due to the lack of fuel, one of his pistons jammed and busted up his bitarlueus. Its fine now, though. We repaired the damage and applied a patch. He'll be able to take it off in a few weeks granted he doesn't re-damage anything." Heatwave explained nonchalantly. It took Kade a moment to work through the more complicated Cybertronian lingo to get the gist of what Heatwave was saying.

"Cody suffered what?!" Kade shouted. Immediately, Kade made his way to stand directly underneath Chase. With hurried motions he signaled for Cody to be lowered. At the same time, Kade was firing off questions a hundred miles per minute.

"Cody, are you okay? Are you in pain? Do I need to get the Doc? Where's Frankie? She was supposed to be here with you. Are you okay?" The older brother asked worriedly. He didn't seem to notice how repetitive his line of questioning was. When Chase lowered Cody to Kade's level, Kade immediately swooped in and started inspecting Cody. He first homed in on Cody's metal covered arm and inspected it for a moment before moving on to the rest of him. After a few moments, Kade seemed satisfied and backed off slightly to peer at his little brother unsurely. Cody gazed blearily back at him before giving a yawn. His eyes drooped.

"Hey… you okay, squirt?" Cody shifted minutely in order to look directly in Kade's eyes. He shrugged. Cody felt ready to either go to bed or scream at people. Either one would do.

"I'm tired. And you guys lied to me." Cody said. "Can I go to my room and go to bed now? I want to be alone."

Kade's face paled in shock as he seemed to realize Cody's current state of awareness concerning his biology or lack of.

"Cody-" Kade began.

"Stop it, Kade. I'm tired and want to go be alone. Can I?" This time, Cody directed his sharp question to the bots. Boulder and Heatwave both shifted uncomfortably, and Blades looked like he was about to short circuit.

"So long as you allow us to monitor your energy levels; rest would be beneficial to your healing state." Chase answered Cody's voice in his usual monotone voice.

"Okay. Kade, can you carry me to my room? I don't think I can walk." Cody yawned. Between the exhaustion and the weirdness of his body, he doubted he'd be able to stumble a few steps before falling.

"Uh- yeah. Sure." Kade agreed. His brows were pinched together in obvious worry, but he still turned and allowed his younger brother to crawl onto his back. He looped his strong arms under Cody's legs and tilted forward so that Cody didn't even have to work to stay on Kade's back. Then he began plodding up the stairs to Cody's room.

Cody watched the bots disappear from view with something like relief. His heart felt like a mess and while he knew he shouldn't be screaming at the bots, he certainly felt like it. Though… to be fair he somewhat felt like screaming at Kade too… or Dad… or Dani… or Graham.

Cody felt like screaming… at a lot of people. The sooner he was alone… the better. Then he could rest… and not… scream at people.

Zzzz…

Z…. Zzz… Z…zzz…

Cody was asleep faster than Kade could carry him up the stairs.

* * *

This was absolutely painful. Like, OUCH! Especially at the end, this story just did not want to flow. Anyway, its out now. And maybe, just maybe I'll be able to focus on my eight page history paper due this friday.

Enjoy, tell me what you think,

~Blitza


	8. End of the Introduction

The next time Cody woke he felt much better. His mind was clear, and his breath came easily. The… attack from earlier seemed to have no current influence on him besides his broken arm… or bitarlueus thing. It almost felt as if the last time he had woken had been a dream. Except for the cast and how his arm was starting to ache.

Cody blinked and shifted a little.

Warm sunlight cascaded onto his legs through the window pane while someone's familiar snores tickled his mind. Cody turned to look to his left. He smiled tentatively at the sight of his father. The chief was slouched over awkwardly on the armrest of Cody's desk chair. His clothes were wrinkled, his face was pale and tired, and his hair was in utter disarray. It was obvious Cody's father had been sitting there for quite some time; possibly all night.

Yet, Cody couldn't quite find it in him to be concerned. Instead, he could feel his emotions rising up in a tidal wave as he thought on the events of the day before. Hurt was probably the first thing that flashed through him. Cody felt so, so incredibly hurt. He was hurt by almost dying, he was hurt by the lies his friends and family had allowed, and most of all, he was hurt by the fact that his body wasn't even his anymore. Instead, his soul was stuck in a bunch of jury rigged metal and pipeline that didn't even seem to be holding together too well. So yes, Cody was feeling incredibly hurt.

The next thing Cody felt, was anger. He was so angry at absolutely everything. He was angry at Dad, Kade, Dani, Graham, Heatwave, Dr. Greene, Chase, Blades, Boulder…

The list went on. But mostly, Cody found himself angry at himself and the situation he had fallen into. He curled his fingers into fists. He didn't want to be like this. He really didn't. He didn't want to be made of metal or plastic or pipeline or whatever else currently made up his insides. He didn't want to drink weird blue medicine or have weird stroke thingies that broke arms. He didn't want to have metal casts or the Rescue Bots' constant concern. He wanted to wake up and go play with Frankie. He wanted to tease and laugh with his brothers and learn new things from his sister. And he really, really wished he could go back to being just a plain old, squishy human.

Unbidden, Cody felt despair and hurt wash over him again. Ugly emotions crawled from his belly up to his head and eyes. Tears swelled and obscured his vision. It wasn't fair! He didn't want to be like this! Cody sniffled and glared up at the ceiling. Tears streaked their watery way down his cheeks. For a few moments, Cody struggled silently with his emotions. He didn't want to cry but the pain and hurt and the anger was just too much. It felt as if his whole world had come crashing down. One day had been normal and the next had exploded into a million shards of fragile glass. Cody hadn't realized how delicate and fragile his everyday life had been until it was gone.

Cody whimpered. He couldn't seem to get the tears to stop. He sucked in a noisy breath of air and released it in a sob. The boy turned to the side and curled into the tightest ball he could manage with the cast. Tears continued to stream down his cheeks as he continued to sob. Why, oh why couldn't he just be normal again? Where did it go, his normal, happy existence?

"Cody?" The utterance brought Cody back to reality. Warm arms scooped him up and leaned him against a sturdy form. Cody blinked blurrily into the gaze of his father. "Hey, shh… shh… it's okay. What's wrong, scamp?" Charlie's hand rubbed calmingly up and down Cody's back. The comfort and love in the gesture made Cody cry harder. This was his dad. This was the one who had raised him after mom died. This was the man who had been there for his first baseball game and his first spelling bee. Cody had always adored and loved him unconditionally.

Yet, this was also the man who had let Cody be turned into something not human. Yes, Charlie Burns loved his son. But he had also turned his son into something that Cody had never wanted to be.

Cody fisted his good hand in his father's uniform and shoved. He didn't want to be held right now, and certainly not by his father.

"Let me go!" Cody gasped out. "I'm mad at you!" He declared as he gave another hard push.

"Cody…" Charlie tried to soothe.

"No! You did this! You asked for me to be turned into… into something else!" Cody felt Charlie still in his frantic soothing. "I want to be normal!" Cody sobbed out. "I want to be a normal human and do normal things! Not, not this! I don't want to be weird!"

"Oh, son." Charlie whispered emotionally as he resumed his soothing measures. The father pulled his son close and began to rock slowly back and forth. An old lullaby came to mind; from back when he and Lilith would sing lullabies for their children together. He hummed the song under his breath and closed his eyes to block out the pain. Even now, years later, it still hurt to remember all they had shared together. Still… his son needed to calm down and the family lullaby was the surest way to do it. They had basically trained all of their kids to calm down when they sang the lullaby. It had been a while, but Charlie was sure it would still work.

"I'm here with you, and you're here with me.

All around us is water, as far as the eye can see.

But we're not alone, we have each other,

Brothers and sister, father and mother.

We are a family, we are together,

And that's how we'll stay, always forever…"

Charlie trailed off as Cody's sobs finally subsided. Now, Cody's tear-filled eyes looked up at him unblinkingly.

"Cody, it's going to be okay. Please, don't cry. I promise, everything will turn out just fine." Charlie said firmly.

"But, but I'm not me." Cody whispered. More tears slipped down his cheeks as he finally blinked.

"Yes, you are." Charlie assured him. "You are and always will be Cody. Nothing like that has changed."

"No, I'm not. L-look at me! I'm made of-of metal! I don't even have a heart right now!" Cody raised his voice and began to squirm. He pressed his good hand against Charlie's chest and pushed. "Let go of me!" Cody gasped as he strained to get away.

"Cody, stop. You're going to injure yourself." Charlie shifted Cody a bit before depositing him back on the bed. Cody huffed in surprise before scooting back to the headboard. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his trembling arms around his legs. Then he buried his face into his knees. He didn't want to look at his dad right now.

Long moments passed in silence. Cody didn't care. Hurt still burned at the center of his being like some kind of furnace. He didn't ask to be like this!

"Why?" He asked. For a moment, Cody didn't even realize the question he'd posed. It had just spilled out of him like water from a busted dam.

"Because you were dying." Cody's breath hitched. There was something hurting and very vulnerable in his father's voice. It was the same thing that had been in the Rescue Bots' voices earlier.

"So? You could have just taken me to a hospital."

"No, Cody. We couldn't have. Any hospital we could've taken you to would have declared you dead." Cody raised his head to look at his father. The vulnerable tone in his father's voice had gotten worse. When Cody looked at him, he was shocked. Never before had Cody seen his father look so downtrodden. The man looked both emotionally and physically ill. There were deep, dark bags under his eyes and from the paleness of his skin, Cody could tell Charlie hadn't been eating right for at least a few days. The man's emotions were also easy to see. Defeat practically sang itself into being through the slump of his bock and the looseness of his shoulders. Sadness crept into the crevices and wrinkles of his face like cats into the dog house. It didn't belong there. Laugh lines did. Not sadness.

"I don't understand." Cody murmured into his knees. "Why did you have to have Doctor Greene turn me into a-a Cybertronian?" Cody fumbled for the correct wording. He didn't want to say Autobot, because technically the Rescue Bots weren't even Autobots. The Autobots were a political party that turned into a warring force. They weren't a species and they definitely weren't who the Rescue Bots defined themselves as. Rescue Bots were rescuers. They didn't pick sides. If someone needed rescuing, it was in their programming to respond.

"Because there was no other way."

"Why was there no other way? I was still breathing, and my heart was still beating! Griffin Rock has some of the most advanced technology in the world! That includes the medical technology. They would have done something!"

"You weren't." Charlie whispered brokenly.

"What?" Cody looked back up in surprise. Something trembled fearfully inside of him; he felt as though something bad was coming.

"You weren't breathing. Your heart wasn't even beating. You remained that way for three hours, Cody. You were dead. The only reason you're here today is because the Rescue Bots claimed your soul hadn't left yet. Doctor Greene was able to build a body with their help to encase your soul in. Then they moved your soul from your body into the metal one they had built. You woke up a few hours later." The words Charlie spoke hung in the air like knives. Each of them battered at Cody's sanity like a battering ram. Even Charlie himself seemed unbearably pained by his own admission. Tears lay unshed in his eyes and his shoulders hunched in on themselves. "Cody, we did the only thing we could do. I'm sorry. I really am. I should never have allowed you to get into so much danger. I should have kept you with me that day. I should have gotten you out of that blimp sooner. I should have gotten to you in time so that you could have made it to the hospital. I'm sorry. I'm so, so very sorry." Now, the tears did stream from his eyes in clear, liquid droplets. They traveled over the aged chief's wrinkled skin like water over a boulder. Cody himself noticed none of this, however. He was far more focused on what his father had just described to him.

"I…" He paused. Saying it would make it real. "I was dead?" Cody whispered softly.

"Yes. You were. There was no way to help you, Cody. We were going to lose you. You're… you're our baby. You'll always be the youngest of your siblings and I-I couldn't lose you. Your brothers and sister couldn't either. We couldn't lose you, Cody. Our family is already broken. We couldn't allow it to be shattered." Fresh tears dribbled down Cody's face. In response, his father drew him back into a warm embrace. Cody's head rested snugly under his father as the man began to hum once more. This time it was a tuneless sound; merely to soothe and not to forcefully calm. All the same, Cody leaned into the embrace. He was in shock. The truth of why the Rescue Bots and his father had done this seemed like an apocalypse or something just as bad. It burned and ate away at his mind, then it seeped through the cracks to his heart like inky poison. He had been dead. Really and truly dead. For three hours. Dead.

It echoed in his mind like it would an empty, voluminous cavern.

"So-I'm stuck like this? This is the only way to live?" Cody asked timidly. Most of the anger had fled in the presence of shock and fear. It would probably come back later, but for now other things took precedence.

"Yes. I'm sorry, son. This is all my fault. I should have-" Something clicked into place in Cody's brain at his father's words. Cody's upbringing and natural care for others asserted itself and he found himself covering his dad's mouth with both hands.

"Don't say that. Its not true. This isn't your fault. You're not the one who broke the rules or snuck where you weren't supposed to. I did that. Not you. Please, don't blame yourself." Cody murmured. His heart reached out to his father. Cody didn't want his dad to feel upset for something Cody had done.

Cody had disobeyed. Cody had taken Frankie and gone somewhere dangerous. Cody had crash-landed a blimp in the middle of the city. Not Dad.

Charlie blinked down at his son. Slowly and tenderly, as though tending a newborn, the chief pulled Cody's hands from his mouth.

"I'm your father, Cody. Its my first and most important job to keep you safe and raise you right, with morals and strength. That is my first and most important duty. Not being chief of Griffon Rock or even being a good citizen. My most important duty is to you and your siblings. When one of you gets hurt on my watch it's my fault because I couldn't keep you safe. I didn't keep you safe, Cody. You died. That is the absolute worst a father can manage. All of the consequences are on me." Cody shook his head but didn't say anything. His words alone would not be enough to lift the guilt off of his father. It would take time, and a lot of reminders. For now, there was a bigger question on Cody's mind.

"What's going to happen now, Dad?"

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked.

"My… body. What's wrong with it? Why can't I walk or do things?" Cody questioned softly. Charlie sighed. He leaned back to look down at Cody. This wasn't going to be easy.

"When Doctor Greene made your new body… it was rushed. We didn't know how long we had before the Rescue Bots wouldn't be able to help you. Thus, he built it as quickly as he could using some supplies the Rescue Bots had and some of the things lying around his lab. The stuff from the Rescue Bots was designed to be used on adult Cybertronian and most of it went to purposes it wasn't quite designed for. The human stuff, on the other hand, was never designed to be doing half of the stuff you're currently using it for. Chase said… it wasn't made to be, he called it, living metal? I think that's what he said. It works in a pinch, but its not the greatest for long term, apparently. We were so rushed at the time it didn't seem to matter. We just needed something functional that would save you. We were desperate, Cody." Cody blinked up in confusion and no small amount of fear.

"Am… am I going to die? Because it would only work in a pinch?"

"No! No, Cody. We won't let you die, I promise. Its true, the stuff… inside of you, isn't the best, but the Rescue Bots said its temporary."

"Temporary?" Cody parroted back in confusion.

"Er, I guess? Apparently, after a while the living metal will, uh, eat the other metal and turn it into more living metal."

"What?" Cody cried in alarm. He jerked in his father's arms and quickly spread out his own arms to look for any eaten bits. "Its going to eat me?"

"Oh, no! Its fine Cody. Um, think of it like upgrading or something! The living metal is just going to turn the rest of the metal into more living metal! It's not actually eating you… its just… strengthening you. Like calcium. In your bones. Or something." Charlie finished sheepishly. Truth be told, he didn't really understand all the technical jargon Doctor Greene and Chase had used to describe what was going on in Cody's 'new' body.

"Oh. So, I'm not dying?"

"No. You're going to be perfectly fine."

"What happened earlier? With my arm and the blue stuff they made me drink. What was that stuff anyway? Living lightning?"

"Not quite, young one." Both father and son blinked at the interruption. Turning, Cody was surprised to see Chase standing at his open window. For a split second, he wondered how long the bot had been there and if he had seen Cody break down. Then his words registered.

"Wait, not quite? Did you guys feed me liquified electricity?" Cody asked feeling tendrils of alarm shoot through him. Ingesting electricity was bad, right? Though… that might not really apply anymore.

"No, you were given a small dose of highly refined and purified energon diluted within a solution of nutritious high-grade minerals to help your transition and eventual growth."

"Um…" Cody blinked in confusion.

"You were given the Cybertronian equivalent of human baby food with vitamins. Course, what you really need is Sparkling grade energon, but we don't really have those kinds of resources or the refinery needed. So instead we made you as close as we can get it. Though it still seems to make you purge after more than a sip. Sorry, kid." Heatwave stepped into view beside Chase. Cody blinked.  
"I'm being fed Cybertronian baby food?... Are Boulder and Blades outside my window too?" Cody asked. He eyed the window warily; now quite certain the two bots had been out there since the beginning.

"After yesterday's incident, we have decided to take shifts watching over you. With the exception of an emergency that requires all of us, at least one Rescue Bot will remain with you so as to monitor your unstable status." Chase explained. "Boulder and Blades will watch over you in four point six hours."

"My 'unstable status'? What does that mean? And if my living metal just has to… convert all the other metal in me, what happened yesterday? Why did it happen? What happened to my arm to break it?" Chase and Heatwave glanced at each other in silent conversation. Heatwave grimaced and sighed. Whatever conversation the two had shared, he had come out the losing end.

"The only stuff that's really working right now is the living metal and its not exactly made for what we used it for. A lot of your systems, or as you humans say, bodily functions, are running at less than their full ability, or are barely running at all. As time passes, the living metal in you will adapt itself for your well-being. The systems run by the living metal will eventually reach one hundred percent on their own. However, the functions we used normal, Earth metals for aren't like that. Because they aren't living metal, they are classified as 'foreign' and your body has a hard time using it, kinda like humans and prosthetics except this is inside of you instead of outside. The normal metals are also hodgepodge pieces of half finished projects the doc was working on in his lab. Most of it was never meant to do what you need it for now, and we had very little time to try to alter it. To make everything run smoothly, you're being given a ton of energon. Now, all Cybertronians need energon to survive, but most of us only need about as much as a human pinky every human century. Because your systems aren't good at what they do, you need much, much more at uneven intervals due to your various states of activity. This is both to help you run smoothly, like oil for a car, and also because you aren't able to absorb all of it like we are. Your systems can't absorb every bit of it like us, so it takes more to keep you alive. What happened yesterday was you running low on energon. Without energon, your Earth based systems aren't going to keep running smoothly. They'll get jammed or, as you've experienced, malfunction bad enough to break themselves. Don't worry though, the living metal will eventually take over the Earth metal. Given enough time, you'll find yourself functioning properly and needing much less energon. You'll just be… sick for a while. So… you understand all of that, kid? It was a lot of information."

"I-I think I understand. I'm- I'm not made of the right stuff, so it doesn't work right. Because it doesn't work right, I need a lot of that… energon stuff to make it work right. While its not working right, its kind of like kidney failure. I can't absorb or digest the energon stuff right, so I have to have a lot of it to get a lot of use out of it. But… why can't I stand up? Or walk? I haven't been able to since the accident. And why do I have to have the equivalent of baby food?" Cody's nose scrunched up at the last question. He might technically still be a kid, but he was by no means a baby.

"Er, the purified energon and fine minerals are because, in terms of both age and current dietary needs, you are a Cybertronian infant."

"But I'm not a baby. And I'm twelve. Not two." Cody objected.

"Cybertronian protoform sparklings aren't recognized as the Cybertronian equivalent of toddlers for thousands of Earth years. Also, you currently share the same dietary needs regardless of maturity. You need highly refined and purified energon for your barely functioning absorption and you need the extra minerals to help you grow." Cody blinked at Chase's monotone answer.

"Oh… makes sense." He murmured; feeling a bit childish for his denials. To beings who lived for billions of years, his short twelve must seem so incremental and childish. "And the other stuff? Like walking?"

"That's another effect of your current system deficiency. Most of your systems aren't running properly. An example of this would be your balance module or your connective wiring. Right now, a lot of the transmitters you have aren't functioning at full capacity. Thus, when you try to stand or move, you're only able exert partial force because your legs have not been signaled to use full force."

Cody tilted his head at Chase. Once again, the eldest Rescue Bot was talking a bit over his head. Heatwave rolled his eyes and cut in.

"Basically, your Cybertronian brain isn't able to tell the rest of you what to do very well. Anything you do is going to take twice the effort 'cuz only half of you is responding right now. Or less than half. Depends on what you're trying to use. We had to prioritize what system got the best parts and vitals are most important so…" Cody blinked and tilted his head slightly to the side. He'd learned something similar a few days ago when studying for a science exam.

"So, it's like I'm halfway paralyzed? My legs and arms aren't responding very well because my brain can't tell them what to do very well?"

"Essentially, yes." Chase confirmed.

"Will it get better? You, know, once the living metal replaces all the Earth metal?" Cody asked. He stifled a yawn. He was finally getting answers; this wasn't the time to sleep!

"Yes, it should improve temporarily after consuming energon also." Chase peered closely at him, seeming to examine Cody for something. "Your current level of energon is sufficient for at least another twenty-four hour period."

"Okay," Cody blinked sleepily.

"What about all the sleepiness? Is that because of the Earth metal too?" Charlie posed his first question. He had sat quietly for the last few minutes, merely observing the interaction between his son and his robotic co-workers. However, he had been a father for many years and the father of a particular blonde for twelve. He could recognize the signs of a child fighting sleep and it had brought up one of his own currently unanswered question. Why was Cody sleeping so much? Was it another side affect of the imperfect Earthen materials?

"We are not currently sure. It could be, but it could also be that in Cybertronian terms, he is very young. We gave him our programming for his operating system. For Cybertronian infants, it is natural to sleep up to seventy percent of the day away. His current form simply isn't equipped to handle large amounts of stress or physical action." Chase explained softly as his bright gaze rested on Cody. Cody blinked up at him tiredly and yawned softly. Cody really was getting tired. He didn't even mind Chase comparing him to a Cybertronian baby. Charlie nodded and looked down at his son.

"Cody, are you ready to get some more sleep?" The boy shook his head.

"But, but what happens now? With everything." Cody asked tiredly.

"Nothing. Nothing is going to happen right now Cody. The only thing you're going to do is get better. And right now, that means getting the sleep you need."

"But-"

"No 'but's, Cody. You're tired, go to sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow." Charlie admonished gently as he laid his son down to sleep. He pulled Cody's covers up to his chin and smiled as he looked back at Cody's face. The boy had already fallen asleep. Gently, Charlie kissed his son on the forehead before turning to the Rescue Bots.

"You'll watch over him?"

"We will maintain surveillance to insure his continued existence." Chase confirmed.

"Yeah, we'll watch the kid. You should get some rest, Chief. You're tired too." Heatwave added. He peered worriedly at the human. They were such fragile things; Cody's current predicament drove home just how delicate their human partners were. Heatwave didn't want any more of their human friends to come to any sort of harm. It was too dangerous.

The chief nodded.

"I will. Thank you."

* * *

So... Spring Break sucked and so did the next week of two exams + a paper. Thus, I am only just now getting back into my writing mode. But anyway, this finishes the intro which means break time for me, and hiatus for you. I need a break, this whole story is somewhat exhausting to write due to all the emotions... definitly break time before I get burn out. Anyway, I'm not really too sure how long I'll be breaking for, but it will be for at least a few months. I concretely plan on getting back to this by fall semester but I might write a little during the summer if I feel like it.

Also, did you like the lullaby? I actually came up with it one the spot and my mom thinks its sooo cute! :)

Anyway, have a good Easter!

~Blitza


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